Spring Fling in Italy I: Getting There

As is our custom when driving to far away destinations, we try and take a few extra days to break up any long travel distances into more manageable “bite-sized” pieces for the girls. About 4-5 hours in the car per day seems to be just about right…

For our trip to Italy, we decided to make our first stop in Karlsruhe, Germany, which is just about halfway between Brussels and Milan.



Karlsruhe is known by its’ nickname of the “Fan City”, because it was designed with a tower in the middle and all of the streets radiating out from it, sort of in the shape of a fan.



Also, it was the birthplace of Karl Benz, the inventor of the automobile (and founding member of Mercedes-Benz), so it would be a good place for me to stop and pay my respects!

During our drive, the girls usually have plenty of things to do, with their books, puzzles, drawing pads and Leapster game consoles. In addition, Jo Ann got a special book for DS: The Italy Discovery Journal, a 174 page booklet of fun-facts concerning things to see and do in Italy, while also teaching her about Italian food, culture, history, art and architecture. In fact, Jo and I learned a lot of things from DS during our trip…

We rolled into Karlsruhe late in the afternoon and after checking in, walked into the city center to see Karlsruhe Castle. Many people were outside in the park that surrounds the castle, enjoying the warm early evening.



We found a nice outdoor café called Multi Kulti, and sat down for a nice dinner overlooking the castle and its fountains. It had been a hectic several weeks getting ready for the trip, and for me, work had been especially busy as I prepared to take almost three weeks off.



But, as we sat and enjoyed our first holiday dinner, we all felt very relaxed and agreed that a stop in Karlsruhe was the perfect beginning for our “Spring Fling” in Italy.

Buongiorno! We're back!

Jo, PS, DS and Ray inside the Colosseum in Rome...

After 18-days and 4,435 kilometers (2,755 miles) in our little Toyota Verso, we made it back to Belgium from our extensive tour of Italy! Amazingly, we saw all the cities we had planned to visit -and then some!

It's difficult to say which were our favorites since each place we visited was quite special in its own way. But the ones that we all seem to agree as being the most memorable for us were Lake Como, Cinque Terre, Rome and Venice. Simply, "Belissimo!"

We were fortunate enough to have beautiful weather (with the exception of a couple of rainy days), no traffic, light crowds and two well-behaved little girls.

It will take some time to update our blog with our Italian adventures and sift through the 1,800+ photographs we took on our trip. But, we will try and get them up to share with you as soon as we can...

So, until then, Ciao!

Happy Easter from Belgium!

The Shinozaki's will be embarking on an 18-day holiday to Italy for Easter break. As such, we wish you all a Happy Easter!!

If all goes according to plan, we will visit Milan, Lake Como, Cinque Terre (Italian Riviera), Pisa, Lucca, Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, Rome, and Venice!!

We will update the blog with our many adventures (I'm sure there will be many!) upon our return.

Until then, Buona Pasqua and arrivederci!

Springtime is here!

Warm weather, sunny skies and budding landscapes have finally made it to Belgium!

We, like many of our fellow Belgians, have been enjoying the outdoors this past week. Meeting friends at the park, long walks and bike rides by the lake, or just sitting in outdoor cafes are just a few of the things that we have been doing here at the onset of Spring...

PS and I recently spent a day at Province Domain Kessel-Lo with some friends. This huge park features several playgrounds, beautiful lakes, scenic picnic areas, a swimming pool and motor boat rentals, just to name a few! We like it so much that we've been there several times already and still discover something new at each visit.

Unfortunately, at the end of the day, my car keys, along with the electronic remote, accidentally dropped into the lake when PS and I slipped after posing for a few photo's! Luckily, a nice young fellow came and offered us some help. After fishing for the keys for 20 minutes, he was able to retrieve them from 4-feet of murky water! Amazingly, my alarm remote still worked!

Ray and I have also spent a few early evenings this past week at Diependal Sports Center in Tervuren with the girls. After Ray got off from work, we met at the Sports Center bar that overlooks the enclosed playground. From there, we could watch DS & PS play to their heart's content while we sampled some fine Belgian beers in the outdoor terrace. Parenting has never been so good!

The perfect way to catch up with our daily news. On days like these, life is good!

And here we are in the Le Logis and Floreal neighborhoods (known for its guess what?) in nearby Watermael-Boitsfort, checking out the cherry trees, which are now in bloom. Simply beautiful!

Happy Springtime from Belgium!

Lunch at NATO...

As most of you know, NATO (The North Atlantic Treaty Organization) has its headquarters here in Brussels, Belgium. NATO Headquarters provides a site where representatives from both the civilian and military side of all the member states can come together in order to make political decisions on a consensus basis. It also offers a venue for dialogue and cooperation between partner countries and NATO member states, so that they can work together in their effort to bring about peace and stability.

This past week, a friend (whose hubby works here) and I had lunch at NATO. We had a fab time sitting in the outside courtyard enjoying the sunshine without the kids in tow. We were in the staff center of the complex which consisted of a health spa, beauty center, bowling alley, tennis courts, restaurant and shops. You almost forget where you are until you pass the armed guard security and signs inside the restaurant posted in red "No classified information to be discussed in this area". Otherwise, it was a really upbeat atmosphere and everyone seemed to be in great spirits.

Jo's smoked salmon salad and Karen's beef carpacio topped off w/white wine...

In fact, the NATO Summit just occured in Strassbourg, France this past weekend. President and First Lady Obama were among the few in attendance...